In
Māori tradition, the Maero (or Mohoao) are an iwi-atua or supernatural people from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. They are sometimes described as giants or wild men of the woods, and inhabit mountains and forest, particularly in the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
and
Tararua Range. Maero are characterised as wild, malevolent and often violent, carrying stone clubs as weapons. They are covered in dark body hair and have long, bony fingers with sharp fingernails. They kill and eat humans and other animals.
The Maero are said to harbour anger towards the Māori, who arrived from
Hawaiki, and are thought to have displaced them and ruined the
tapu (sacredness) of their homes, forcing them to dwell in inhospitable alpine regions.
In traditional Māori stories
In a story from the
Whanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
area told by Tuao, chief of Upper
Whanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
,
Tukoio
Tukoio is the name of a legendary or mythological chief in Māori mythology.
In a story from the Māori tradition of the Whanganui area, Tukoio, a mortal man, came across a Maero or Mohoao, a wild person or monster much feared in Maori legend. ...
, a mortal man, once found a maero, a
''mohoao'' (wild man), and attacked it, cutting off its arms, legs and head. He brought the head back, but it was still alive and called for help. Tukoio did not want to fight a whole clan of maero, so he dropped it and came back later with reinforcements, only to find the maero had put itself back together and returned to the forest.
See also
*
Moehau
In New Zealand folklore, the moehau (also called the maeroero) is a creature said to dwell in the Coromandel- Moehau ranges of New Zealand's North Island. Some Māori people suggest that the creature is a descendant of the maero, but another expl ...
*
Patupaiarehe
Patupaiarehe are supernatural beings ( ) in Māori mythology that are described as pale to fair skinned with blonde hair or red hair, usually having the same stature as ordinary people, and never tattooed. They can draw mist to themselves, but te ...
References
{{Maori-myth-stub
Māori legendary creatures
Forest spirits
Giants